The number of calls to a statewide problem gambling hotline rose last year and the amount of money people were behind also went up, according to a report issued Tuesday.
The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling fields calls from people whose gambling habits are starting to negatively affect their lives.
Executive Director Rose Blozinski says the numbers are rising...
"...Last year, in 2018, we had 13, 869 calls to our helpline. In 2017, we had 12,674 calls. We were about 1,200 calls over the previous year. Another significant thing is our average debt last year was $76,821 which was quite a jump...."
Blozinski says the indebtedness led some callers to be considering drastic action...
"We had 10 calls with thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts. Those are the ones we're aware of. Not everybody will give us that information but that's a real significant number. It probably is a little bit low because we know compulsive gamblers have a higher suicide rate than other addictions...."
Blozinski says a person seeking help has several ways to contact them...
"..We encourage them to give us a call at 800-GAMBLE-5. We also have a chatline at Wi.-problemgamblers.org or our text line at 850-888-HOPE..."
Rose Blozinski says someone concerned about another person's gambling can call the line and find out about available resources in their community.
Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling is a statewide organization with a mission to provide resources, public awareness and education on gambling disorders while maintaining strict neutrality on the issue of legalized gambling.
